This was a great move from a football standpoint for the Bears, but you have to wonder about the situations this guy puts himself in time and again. He was a great value for the price they paid, but I would expect a suspension.

I'm having a hard time seeing why that's a shame. _________________

"Live as brave men; and if Fortune is adverse, front its blows with brave hearts." -- Cicero

Bears receiver Johnny Knox suffered a serious and disturbing back injury in December 2011. As he continues to recover, Knox concedes that he may miss all of the 2012 season.

Knox: “It could happen, but I’m staying optimistic. My main focus is in that weight room. That’s all I’m focusing on. I’m not in a rush to return this is my spine, the core of my body that I’m dealing with. This is not my knee or my ankle or my shoulder. I’m taking my time on this. I really don’t know [when I'll be able to practice]. They haven’t given me a timetable on that right now. I’ve been out here jogging a little bit just trying to get some muscle memory back, but as far as routes, I’m just working on the little things right now. That, and staying in my playbook.”

Shedding 30 pounds from a 185-pound frame while confined to a brace, Knox has regained a third of the weight. He continues to focus on getting the rest of it back.

As Brian Urlacher prepares for his 13th NFL season, it also could be his final one with the Bears. Urlacher, who turned 34 on Friday, celebrated his birthday by proclaiming in a radio interview that he may give free agency a whirl in 2013.

Urlacher: “I think [Bears president] Ted Phillips said when they had the owners meeting they’re gonna wait until the season is over. See what happens, how I play. It’s kind of exciting. I’ve never been a free agent. So if I can get to free agency we’ll see what happens. I no doubt want to finish my career here. There’s no doubt about that. But you bring in free agency and all that you just never know what’s gonna happen.”

The Bears’ reluctance to offer a lucrative long-term contract to Matt Forte stems in part from concerns that his knees won’t allow him to remain an upper-echelon NFL running back for much longer.

The wear and tear Forte took during a college career at Tulane in which he had nearly 1,000 touches was a concern entering the 2008 NFL draft, and a source told David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune that with more than 1,200 touches under his belt in the NFL, the Bears wonder how long Forte’s knees will hold up.

Forte’s knee injuries include a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in 2006, a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee in 2009 and a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee in 2011. The Bears may be concerned about the possibility of arthritis becoming a problem for Forte.

“It kind of looks bad when other people speak for you,” Forte told the Chicago Sun Times. “[Cutler] doesn’t really know what’s going to happen. He’s not in the negotiations. He’s just being optimistic. He wants me there.”

Promoted after the departure of Martz in January, Mike Tice becomes the club's fifth offensive coordinator in 10 years, and none of the men he follows have been popular for long. But never before have the Bears had a quarterback-receiver-running back trio like Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte. So Tice embarks on an opportunity that looks like the franchise's best hope in some time.

Tice: "The biggest difference (since he had a shot as a head coach) is I am not a first-time, gangly puppy, over-excited rookie position coach. I've cut my teeth as a coach with some great head coaches and some great co-workers, and I have been very lucky to have learned a lot of football from all of the above. Now that I am older and have been down the road -- some of it rocky and some of it smooth -- I know how to go about setting a plan and going and working that plan to become successful as an offense. I think that is the biggest difference. First time around, everything I learned was on the go. This time around, I feel I am a better teacher."

"I've helped establish some good offenses over my career, and I've played in some good offenses over my career. I think I know what a good offense looks like. At the end of the day, we're going to have a certain personality. And at the end of the day, it will be one of explosiveness and one of intelligence and one of rhythm and one of tempo and one of enthusiasm. You have to have all of those to be an elite offense."

Brian Price is heading to Chicago. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have announced that they traded Price, a defensive tackle who started 14 games in Tampa Bay last season, to the Bears for an undisclosed 2013 draft pick.

Watching the bears Preseason game and Alshon Jeffrey still looks fat. Idk if it's his build, but he doesn't come back for the ball very hard and just looks fat and lazy.

thats the reason why i wanted nothing to do with him and why he fell to round 2. he looks sloppy.

It's not shaping up to be a great reciever class. You have the headcase (Blackmon), the guy who doesn't seem to care (Jeffery), the rawer than raw project (Hill), and the walking injury (Childs)._________________